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Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables {A Cost Analysis}

My little man has always had a tough time with disposable diapers – I’m talking horrible rashes that won’t let up no matter what, huge {and I mean huge} blowouts, and the list goes on. Around his 9 month birthday, I made the decision to switch him to {full-time} cloth diapers, much to the chagrin of the husband. Mind you this was something we never planned on doing. It hadn’t even crossed our minds – until a friend of ours started talking it up and I just had to get my hands on those adorably colorful and fluffy booty bumpers! Then I realized this could be the answer to all of baby’s diapering issues.

During my time of research on cloth diapering, I couldn’t help but notice what people everywhere are saying about the cost savings. According to most, cloth diapering could save you thousands in only a few years per child; but there have been some naysayers out there claiming that the savings you acquire aren’t worth the time and effort you must put in to rinsing, washing, and assembling all of those diapers. Now, I understand there are an inordinate amount of options for cloth and disposable diapering which will change each individual’s cost analysis {not to mention number of changes per day, cost of living, etc}.
I have concluded that I cannot go around telling people about the wonderful savings available for parents who cloth diaper without doing the math myself.

So without further ado – here is my cost analysis of disposable vs cloth diapers.

Diaper Cost Analysis
*Assuming 8 diaper changes per day using disposables*
*Assuming 10 diapers per day for cloth {Pocket, AIO and Hybrid}*
*Assuming 12 diapers per day for prefolds*
*Assuming 2.5 years in diapers*

Disposables
{Cost for disposables were determined according to pricing at a big-box store such as Sam’s Club – and not including the amount of a membership. A variety of sizes was used to help acquire a more accurate average.}

Cloth Pocket/Hybrid/AIO
{Cloth diaper costs were determined by general online pricing for popular brands}

*The GroVia Hybrid diaper does not come with inserts due to the fact that you can choose to use flush-able or cloth. I have added the cost of a cloth insert into the cost of this diaper.

Econo Cloth
{Cloth diaper costs were determined by general online pricing for brands.}

Whew! I know that’s a lot of numbers, but I wanted to make sure everyone could see where I was coming from and that I didn’t just pull numbers out of thin air. Keep in mind that these are {very} conservative numbers…not everyone will spend $0.21 on disposables because they won’t shop at a big box store – and to be fair, the price of membership should be included in the price per diaper. Some people will also want to have a larger cloth stash on hand so they don’t have to do laundry as much. They might also have fewer diaper covers and more inserts which will make the cost for cloth lower.

To get a more accurate analysis of the cost of cloth diapering – one has to factor in the cost of washing all of those diapers! {Electric, water, and detergent}. Personally, when little man was younger I preferred to wash diapers every other day – that is on average what the diaper manufacturers suggest for the amount of time you leave the diapers in the pail {now I only wash 2x per week}. With my diaper estimates you should be able to have 2 days worth of diapers plus a few more {just in case there are *issues*}. Here goes…

For my family, these are significant savings…but, I will not be the one to tell you that the work of cloth diapering is so totally worth the money you’ll save. I, honestly, love everything about cloth diapering {how soft and fluffy they are, how they bop around when my little man walks, how – with all of the adorable fabrics out there – they are like little outfit accessories, the money they save my family, the wonders they do for little man’s booty, how good they are for the environment, and the list goes on…}. However, I am not so naive to think that every mother and father in the world feel the same way that I do about it. You have to decide for yourself if cloth diapering is worth it for you – I am a wholehearted believer that one person alone cannot make the decision to cloth diaper – it has to be a family commitment.

I would suggest that you go to your favorite store and determine the cost of disposables there to get a better idea of your savings. Here’s how…
{Get information for at least 4 diaper brands/types and sizes. Make sure you write down the diaper count and price per box}

-Divide the cost of the box by the diaper count to get the price per diaper. Add all of the individual diaper costs together and divide by the number of boxes you got information for – this will give you the average price per diaper.
-Multiply the average price per diaper by 913.125 {number of days} then multiply that number by 8 {changes per day}. This will give you your total cost of using disposables.
-Take your total disposables cost and subtract $550.00 {if you’re planning on using pockets, AIOs, or hybrids} or $188.90 {if you’re planning on using prefolds/econo cloth}. Then subtract $657 {laundry costs} – and there you have your total cloth diaper savings!

Check back next Totally Tots Thursday for a cost analysis of cloth wipes vs. disposables – you definitely don’t want to miss it!

Shop amazon.com for all your cloth diapering needs! {All of the products in the slideshow below are ones that I personally use or have used for my son and have our stamp of approval, so shop with confidence}

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Comments

When I had baby #2 while baby #1 was still in diapers (a toddler), I appreciated having some cloth diapers and quickly (after the first month and seeing the astronomical diaper cost) bought more. I got a used stash in quite good condition off of craigslist for $60 and only needed to buy additional inserts. The next month, the savings was substantial. Now, I’m also using reusable cloths instead of wipes most of the time – increasing our savings even more. A major savings in the summer is the cloth swim diaper. I only need one per child and I prefer them to disposable swim diapers, which always seem really gross. Even people who typically use disposables should try the swim diapers. I really appreciate this post. I also wonder if you have tips about Fuzzibuns – a friend gave me some of her old ones, but now the elastic is worn out and the wicking part doesn’t really wick. Tips on making them useable again without a huge headache or on alternate uses? Thanks!

I LOVE hearing about moms that cloth diaper – it’s really not as old-fashioned as people tend to think!
We do own a few Fuzzibunz diapers. The really cool thing about them is that with a diaper purchase they send you a replacement elastic that just buttons into the diaper. I haven’t been able to find a place where you can buy the elastic alone, but I would maybe try contacting the manufacturer to see? It’s one of the big pluses to owning Fuzzibunz for sure!
As far as making them absorbent again, the first question would be what kind of detergent do you use? Most regular detergents have cleaning agents in them that don’t do well with cloth diapers and can cause them to lose their absorbency. I always always always recommend Rockin’ Green detergent for cloth diaper users. They have amazing products that really do wonders! {Keep an eye out for Rockin’ Green hopefully coming soon to the Atkinson Drive store}
To help your diapers regain their absorbency I would suggest this:
Soak the diapers in hot water {between 130 & 150 degrees} for a few hours with no additives. Then do several hot wash & cold rise cycles with no detergent. After this, do a full regular wash routine {cold rinse, hot wash with detergent, 1-2 cold rinses}. Dry as you normally would.
This should help get your diapers to their original absorbency – just like new!
I hope this helps you out!